For Pitys sake
by The one and only Kanra-chan
Summary: Izaya and Shizuo, transformed into common pets, fight to survive on the streets of an unknown city and make their way back to Ikebukuro. Rating may change
1. 9 Inches Tall

"I 'aate yuu." Izaya says, as best he can. He's sprawled out on one of two of Shinra's metal examination tables, shaking and limp. "I ssseeri-uzzly 'aate you."

On the neighboring table, Shizuo grunts his agreement, as he hasn't gotten the hang of talking yet. Izaya is quickly figuring it out, treating it as if he were talking for a dummy or a puppet-talking while moving your mouth as little as you could. Shizuo, most likely, hasn't even considered this.

"To be fair, I only meant for you to get changed, Izaya." Shinra says, oh so helpfully. He's examining Shizuo on the other table, checking him for injuries and whatnot. He'd hardly glanced at Izaya, and he had to admit that stung.

"Thaa 'akes 'ee 'aate-haate yuuu 'ore!" He snaps, words less intelligible in his angry rush to get them out. Out of the corner of his eye he sees Shinra shrug, still tending to Shizuo. His chest aches at that, though he'll never admit it, and he forces anger to override the hurt.

Slowly, as best he can, he draws his shaking limbs together and attempts to stand. If Shinra won't help him, he'll just help himself. His claws drag the table, the cold steel scraping against them and his ears sending an extremely unpleasant shock down his spine.

"'Uught iii' oouu'!" Shizuo yells, and Izaya ignores him; mostly cause he hates him but partially because he has no idea what he just said.

He manages to pull himself together, standing a little over half a foot tall onfour wobbky legs. Looking down at his reflection in the shiny metal table, his suspicions are confirmed. He's been transformed into a cat. He's young, not a kitten but not fully grown either, and on the smaller side. Black fur to match his hair and eyes redder than his human ones, he's handsome even in this form.

"'Ee'll kk ...k.. I'll 'ill yuu!" Shizuo yells, unable to say "kill" properly. Izaya glances in his direction, somehow completely unsurprised to see Shizuo has been changed into a dog. He's blonde at first glance, looking like a mutt mix with a lot of golden retriever in him, until you look closer. It appears his fur fades to brown halfway to the roots, making him unlike any other dog.

Izaya cringes, slightly, when Shizuo begins to howl in his fury. Izaya hates dogs, he always has, but it's bareable when he reminds himself that the dog neighboring him is his not-quite-boyfriend. Still, it's unpleasant, and he wishes Shizuo would stop.

"Shhh, shh..." Shinra hushes him, gently helping Shizuo upright. He's shorter than Izaya had expected he'd be, small but with decent sized legs. He'd be able to run well, sure, but Izaya would luckily remain faster if Shizuo decided to give into new instincts and treat him like a chew toy.

"'uck yuu!" Shizuo yells, trying his hardest to slur his curse properly. Izaya sits, nearly toppling over when his body shifts the wrong way, but his tail catches him. "'Uck yuu 'uck yooou, 'uck you!"

"Yes, yes." Shinra sighs, somehow managing to lift shizuo off the table and set him on the floor near the door with great care. Izaya straightens up, waiting for Shinra to help him as well, but instead the doctor simply turns off the slights and starts guiding Shizuo into the next room while he growls the whole way.

"Oi!" He hisses, incredulously, drawing a glance from Shinra. "What about me?!" He notices that he's gotten better at talking already, and he silently pats himself on the back for learning a skill so quickly. Not that _that_ was uncommon for him, but still.

"You've got it." His friend replies, going back to helping the angry dog. Izaya scowls, the pain back in his chest and ears flat against his head. He shifts to stand on all fours again, padding slowly and carefully to the edge of the table. It's a long way down, cold floor shining back at him mockingly, illuminated by the light coming from the still open door.

For once, he doesn't understand. He hadn't done anything to Shinra, no pranks or dangerous schemes, he'd been civil to Celty, he and Shizuo hadn't fought in his apartment in months even! Well, that was partially because they were keeping their sort-of-relationship on the down low but still. He couldn't understand why Shinra would do this to him and then ignore him.

In the other room he can hear Shinra trying to calm Shizuo, tone gentle and reassuring, and his fur bristles. Without giving it a second thought he draws his hind legs right and leaps, aiming for the chair against the wall across from him instead of straight at the floor.

Unfortunately, he miscalculates a little. His chest hits the chair, wrenching a pained yowl from him as he flies back, smacking hard against the floor. The chair shoves against a small table, knocking it and the various tools atop it to the floor with a crash. Some of it falls on him, and he yowls in pain again as a flying scapel slices his left hind leg.

He startles, new instincts hitting him harder than a freight train, and he scrambles to his paws. He darts out of the room, ears flat and fur puffed up irritably. Someone yells, he thinks it's Shizuo, but he rushes the other direction past rooms and furniture and doesn't stop till he's somewhere cramped, dark, and quiet.

He hides there for he's not sure how long, leg throbbing in pain and fur slowly un-bristling. His pounding heart eventually starts to calm with his deep, concentrated breaths, and he starts trying to relax. It works, his new instincts fading to the background and his human brain taking over once more. Of course he ends up startled again when a big brown nose suddenly invades his vision.

"Whoa!" He gasps, scrambling further under wherever he is in fresh alarm. Thankfully he can see the space well, even with how dark it is, and doesn't run into anything this time.

"'re you okay?" Shizuo asks, shoving his head further under the fabric protecting Izaya's space and revealing big brown eyes. They're deeper than Shizuo's human gold ones, more fitting for a dog, unlike Izaya's current blood red ones.

"Peachy." Izaya replies, pulling his leg in closer to his body. "How did you find me?" He asks, scowling at Shizuo with his new facial muscles.

"I smelled the 'lood. He says, sniffing at him for emphasis. He shuffles back, sliding out from what Izaya assumes to be Shinra's bed. "'E's in here!" Shizuo barks.

"Tch." Carefully, Izaya pulls himself out without moving his leg too much. It aches, torn muscle spasming every once in awhile.

 _"'iiinra!"_ Shizuo calls again, bending down to let Izaya lean against him for support. "Get in 'ere, he's hurt!"

Slowly, and in no rush, Shinra walks into the room and flips the light on. He looms over the both of them, terrifyingly tall to Izaya. He crouches down, and with little care grabs Izaya's leg just under the wound and pulls him forward. He yelps, hissing in renewed pain as Shinra examines him at the awkward angle. Beside him Shizuo starts to growl, too low for Shinra to hear.

"Mm..." He hums, forcibly straightening Izaya's hind leg to get a better look. Shizuo's growling gets deeper, vibrating against him and Izaya's tail twitches in agitation.

"You'll be fine." Shinra says shortly, not letting go of Izaya's leg much to the informants agony. "You make a real mess of my clinic, you know? I expect you to pay me back for all those bottles you broke- _aarg!"_ Shizuo suddenly lurches forward, teeth sinking into Shinra's hand and drawing blood right away.

"What the hell?!" Shinra yells, out of character but to be expected. Shizuo doesn't let go, snarling at him viciously and Izaya scrambles away now that his leg is free.

"Fuck you!" Shizuo snaps, finally pulling his teeth out of Shinra's hand. His muzzle is bloody, gums and sharp canine teeth showing with the way he's still snarling. "You're the one who did this to us in the first place, he owes you nothing!"

"I'm surprised you'd side with your enemy, Shizuo-kun." Shinra replies, calmer now and already wrapping his bloody hand temporarily in the end of his coat.

"Quit being a dick!" Shizuo growls back, form starting to grow fuzzy. _'No, it's not shizuo that's growing fuzzy.'_ Izaya realises. Its his own vision, black spots popping before his eyes and his body slowly starting to sink to the ground. He's dizzy, and everything spins around him in slow motion.

"You need to stitch him up right now or- 'zaya?" Shizuo asks, padding to him and kidding Izaya's side with his nose. Izaya doesn't respond, eyes closing and body relaxing.

"Orihara-kun?" Shinra calls, and Izaya is sure it's the blood loss that makes him think Shinra sounds worried. It doesn't matter anyway, because he's out cold in the next second.


	2. 420 Chances

He's dizzy when he finally comes to, and his body refuses to move at his request. He finds he's lying on his side, halfway curled up in a warm space and his body is...vibrating? Purring is the proper word, but the sensation of purring like a real cat is so strange (and somewhat embarrassing) that the noise stops dead in his throat.

It resumes after a moment, without his consent, when a hand strokes through his fur. He can't help it, warm and tired and the comforting sensation brings his purring back to full volume. It must be Shinra, because after all, his friend is probably feeling guilty about being so cruel earlier. That, and Celty likely scolded him for his behavior.

He keeps his eyes closed, relaxing into Shinra's lap. This is surely his friends way of apologizing, and he's fine with accepting the silent apology. He can tell his leg has been stitched and bandaged, too, and he feels almost no pain at all. The purring is a bit ridiculous, but he can blame his new animal instincts.

Shinra was probably just scared, he decides. Sure, he'd turned the machine on Izaya on purpose but he'd likely expected different results; something less furry, maybe. Well, once he created a cure for he and Shizuo, maybe Izaya would be okay with putting this behind him. He couldn't stay mad at such an interesting human, after all. Of course his forgiveness doesn't have anything to do with Shinra being his most treasured (and only) friend.

"Celty darling, I'm starting to get jealous!" Shinra calls, from across the room, and Izaya jerks his head up, startling Celty. His head spins, leg throbs, and heart sinks when he looks up to confirm it was Celty who'd been petting him after all.

Disgusting, he shakes his head at himself and stands. It's not much easier this time, and though he's not nearly wobbly and unsteady on his legs, being so disoriented doesn't help his balance. Celty holds something to him, and he frowns as best he can. He gets the sense it doesn't translate well.

"I don't...What?" He asks, shaking his head again. Shinra, a few feet away, pads closer. He squints at her phone, trying to read what she's typed with much difficulty. He recognizes the letters, but putting them into words in his mind and understanding those words is frustratingly hard. Like trying to give the lyrics to a song when you've only heard the melody.

"You can't read?" Shinra asks, too cheerful. "I knew you were an idiot, but this is really surprising!"

Izaya ignores him, though he can't help the irritated twitches of his tail, nor the way one ear swivels in his direction as he approaches. Slowly he's putting the message together, piecing the puzzle together letter by letter. It doesn't help that the screen seems extra blurry, for some reason.

[How are you feeling?] It reads, once he's done translating.

"Ah...I'm feeling better, courier-san. Thank you." He replies, and she goes to type a reply when she thinks better of it. Instead she types out a smiling emoticon, and thankfully the human part of his currently split mind comprehends this right away. He couldn't explain why, though.

I'm like a smaller version of Jekyll and Hyde. He jumps down from Celty's lap abruptly, startling her and Shinra again. Thankfully he lands decently, keeping most of the weight off his bad leg and barely stumbling.

"Shizu-chan?" He calls, resisting the urge to sniff the air like a real cat might. He gets no response.

"Oi, mutt!" He calls again, ears perked for any noise or reply, as the dog is nowhere to be found in Shinra's living room.

"Ah, he's in the clinic. I've been testing his blood so I can reverse this, and I think I've finally got it." Shinra says, and Izaya huffs.

"Why did you do this?" He inquires, trying to remember what exactly happened. He remembered coming over at Shinra's request, and being drugged up. After the doctor put on a hazmat suit, he shoved Izaya under a strange black machine.

He'd been restrained, and right as Shinra was flipping it on Shizuo had come barreling in. A bright flash, darkness, and then he's woken in the clinic with zero explanation.

"I was curious." Shinra says, crouching down next to him with his typical smile. "I wanted to see if I could transform a human into an animal, and I thought it would be fun to test it on you!" He glances to Celty, wishing he could properly roll his eyes.

"I expect you'll teach him better that to do this in the future?" He jokes, but she only fidgets. It's certainly not the response he expects, and it sets off alarm bells. Why wouldn't Celty, of all monsters, be opposed to this?

"C'mon." Shinra grabs him by the scruff of his neck, rough and making Izaya burn in anger. There's a new noise building in his throat, low and angry, but he's plopped down in the clinic before he can get angry enough to lash out at Shinra with his needle sharp claws.

"Ah, hey, Izaya-kun." Shizuo greets. Izaya can't deny he's smug when he notices Shizuo's tail wagging, happy to see him apparently. That, however, is quickly replaced with a vague worry when he see's Shizuo is restrained on the table. Still, he doesn't comment. The brute probably just couldn't keep still, he reasons.

"You've gotten the hang of talking, I see." He nods, sitting up gracefully. Shinra shoots them an odd look, as he doesn't know they're dating, and starts preparing a syringe. The cure, Izaya assumes.

"Yeah, but it doesn't matter. Shinra says we'll be normal soon." Shizuo replies, tail stilling under the doctors gaze.

"Since when were you two able to be in the same room without fighting?" The corrupt doctor asks, and he flicks his tail in annoyance.

"We have a common enemy." He replies with a huff, and sees him nod out of the corner of his eye. He's noticed he has better peripheral vision than he did as a human, though colors seemed to be much more limited. Shinra steps towards him, sliding the needle in his neck quickly and pushing the plunger to allow clear liquid to flow, tensing as though he expects a fight from Izaya.

"How quickly will this take effect?" Izaya asks, fighting the urge to lay down. He's dizzy as the cure starts to set in, a good sign it's already working. Shinra doesn't answer, and Izaya can't stop the way his body flops down. Izaya soon find his head following, thumping gently down onto the table. He's suddenly too exhausted to hold it up.

"Izaya-kun?" Shizuo calls, though he ignores Shizuo and crouches next to Izaya.

"Sorry, but I don't like cats." He whispers, standing straight again. "Celty darling, would you bring the carrier?" Shinra calls, and Izaya struggles to move now that he notices his body going numb.

"What are you doing to him?" Shizuo barks out, worry evident in the human turned canines voice.

"Why…?" Izaya slurs, eyes closing on Shinra's strained smile. Shizuo's voice, loud and anxious now, fades to the background with everything else. I won't forgive this.

* * *

"What are you doing with him!?" Shizuo demands, as Celty takes the carrier in her arms. His friend doesn't look at him, not that she can without a head, but still she keeps her back turned to him and it makes him panic.

"Calm down, Shizuo-kun. I'm going to change you back as promised." Shinra says, rolling a machine over to him. Shizuo vaguely recognizes it as a smaller version of the one that had originally transformed them in the first place.

"But what about Izaya?!"

"Calm down." Shinra instructs, getting the needle ready and Shizuo starts struggling violently. He has no idea how strong he'll be like this, but he has to at least try and get to Izaya. Everything in his gut is telling him there's something wrong.

"Celty! Where are you taking him?" He shouts, straining against his bonds desperately as she walks out of the room, carrier in hand. He snarls, pulling harder, and luckily he hears the restraints start to snap.

"Wait!" Shinra gasps, grabbing him when he breaks free. He snarls, turning in the doctors hold and biting him hard enough that he lets go. Shizuo shoves him violently, taking some dark satisfaction with the way Shinra flies back and knocks his head on the table. He falls to the floor, unconscious but breathing.

That's for hurting Izaya. He jumps off the table, paws skidding over the slick floor while he launches himself out of the room. He makes it to the living room, just as Celty's closed the door without noticing his presence.

Like that'll stop me! He growls and rushes the door, crashing into it with the force of a small car and breaking it down. Even in this form, it seems his strength is still with him. Celty's already speeding away on Shooter, fast as ever. He starts running after them as fast as he can on his four legs.

Luckily he's much faster as a dog than a human, but it still proves to be a struggle to follow her out into the city. It's crowded, bursting with life everywhere you look, and weaving through the crowded sidewalks is hard. He can't go in the streets, either, as the cars would surely crush him.

It's not long before he loses sight of her and Izaya. He's a few miles from Shinra's apartment when he finally stops, he assumes anyway. Trotting into an alley and flopping down onto his stomach, he fights the despair ready to consume him. He's having a hard time with his emotions, canine instincts stronger than his human ones, and pushing him towards a melt down instead of a logical decision Plus he's exhausted, panic and adrenaline having carried him as far as they could and spending all his energy.

"Damn it!" He yells, startling a nearby hobo. "Damn it…" He whispers, quieter. The hobo stares for awhile, smelling strongly of weed and garbage. It clogs his nose, thick and heavy and unpleasant.

Just like Izaya used to smell to me. He huffs, ears layed back and a whine climbing high in his throat. He's tired and confused, worried about his boyfriend. He's not even sure where he is, just that he's much farther from Shinra and Celty's place than he was before.

The hobo is taking a hit off his joint now, apparently having written off Shizuo's human outburst to be a side effect of the drugs. The smell worsens, and he struggles to his sore paws and pads away. He doesn't feel like getting a contact high.

Still, even as he gets further away, the smell follows him. His nose is amazingly powerful as a dog, and he decides this is annoying. Taking a deep breath once he's near some flowers on the other side of the alley, to clear his nose of the drugs, he catches a whiff of something familiar.

Izaya! He perks up, weaving through a group of people quickly and following the faint scent. I can track him! He sets off again, determined to find his lover.

 **So as you probably noticed, I'm writing Shizuo with less human control than Izaya.**

 **That's it. Did you want an explanation as to why? Oh, um...cause I can? Also I know I barely explained the transformations but I am bad at that and it's good to be vague sometimes. Still, feel free to ask if you have any questions~ :)**

 **Oh, and don't pick your cats up like Shinra did. It's probably not good, despite what all the hicks who live near me will say. Mother cats may carry kittens like that, but when your cats are older it can possibly be painful and stress them out more if you're trying to calm them**


	3. And Then There Were 2

His dreams are terrifying. He's scared, anxious, as can be expected and this is prominent in both his human emotions and his feline ones. His dreams start out in a swirling void, spinning slowly into a tornado. He's whisked side to side, faster than he can keep up with. Dust and debris clog his tiny lungs, and then he can't breathe at all.'

He's thrown into a field, where he starts to run in a panic to get away from the tornado chasing him. His fur is bristling, oddly something he notices very much. He thinks, dimly in the back of is mind, that he should be human in his own nightmare.

Slowly the field transforms into a rainy forest, and he finds himself searching through it desperately. Cold mud pulls at his paws and makes his search slow and tiring, his fur soaked by the rain and heart going faster than it should. Rocks and thorny plants tug at his skin where his silky thin fur does nothing to protect him, nor does the rain help wash his blood away.

Eventually he comes across a familiar door, with walls stretching on either side for miles and a comfort in the dark and cold forest. He scratches at it desperately, leaving muddy, bloody streaks all over the once pure white surface.

Eventually it opens to reveal Shinra, staring down at him with disgust. Behind him, seemingly everyone is staring at him with cold eyes. Celty, Shizuo (in human form,) Mairu and Kururi, Namie, Shiki, Mikado, Kida, Saki, and others are among the group of people.

"You aren't invited." Shinra says, and shoves him back with a boot to his face. Izaya's small body tumbles back, skidding on the slick muddy ground. He opens his mouth to ask why, but a mewl tumbles out instead.

"Heh, who's the animal now?" Shizuo asks, to chorusing laughter. Izaya stands, trembling with cold, exhaustion, and pain. He makes a move to get inside, desperate at this point, and again Shinra strikes him with his boot. It doesn't hurt, not really, but he jerks and flinches at the startle of the action. Shinra comes forward and starts to do it again, and again, and again till it does start to sting.

"This is my territory!" He snaps, much to Izaya's confusion. The forest is gone, and he realizes he's waking up in an alley with an angry orange tabby cat batting his face. He huge, not so much fat as just very large and powerful.

"Get out!" He yowls, smacking Izaya again. "This place is mine, can't you smell anything?!" He demands, and Izaya rolls swiftly out of the way to dodge another paw aimed at his face. The cat looks angier, puffing up and growling low in his throat.

Izaya backs up, fighting the way his own fur bristles, and lowers his head as a sign of submission. He's not sure if it will work with a cat, but it's probably a good idea to try with how angry and vicious this battle scarred tabby looks. Unfortunately, it doesn't help.

"I said get out!" He yowls, launching himself at Izaya with powerful hind legs. They tumble around, Izaya scrambling to get away from sharp teeth and claws. He lashes out, catching the other cat across his ear and tearing the tip. The cat wails in anger and pain, backing up with blood droplets splattering onto the ground with his jerky movement.

"How can you talk?" Izaya demands, somewhat disgusted by the idea that Shinra has been experimenting with his humans. He's starting to entertain the idea that Shinra has finally snapped.

"...What?" The cat stills, stiffening visibly.

"How are you talking? Did you visit a man by the name of Kishitani recently?" The large cat stares at him, quiet and startled. He doesn't reply, after a moment, so Izaya continues.

"Did he use a machine on you? And leave you out here?" Izaya demands, beginning to feel frustration stirring in his stomach by the felines silence.

"Well?"

"You...you're speaking human…"

"Yes." He hisses, glaring now. "I am human, or I was anyway. And you were too, so who changed you?"

"I am feline." The cat claims, sitting down now. The fight is gone, though he's clearly on edge, and licks his bristled fur back down before speaking again. "I was born in the time of heat, very long ago. I was taken care of, after my mother left me, by a human."

"So...you understand humans?" It sounds ridiculous, a silly idea but then again, he IS a cat having a conversation with another cat…

"Yes. All felines do." He says this as though it's obvious, like Izaya is an idiot.

"Can all animals understand us?"

"Are you stupid? Of course not. Only cats can, as we are obviously the superior specie. It is said we were blessed long ago to understand all creatures."

"Curiouser and curiouser…" He mutters, feeling like Alice down the rabbit hole. He wonders is this is what The Cheshire Cat's origin story would be like. _I hate to say it, but I miss_ _the brute…_ He wonders how Shizuo is faring, gut twisting with memories of the blonde in his dreams before. He's not even sure if it's the same day it was when Celty apparently left him here, or how long he's been unconscious for.

Shizuo was likely a human again by now, but if Izaya knew the brute, and he did, he was searching all across the city for him. _I just hope I'm still IN the city._

* * *

"INTRUDER!" Comes a voice, startling Shizuo from where he'd been sleeping in a soggy cardboard box. He'd stopped to rest after searching for half a day, exhausted and hungry. He hadn't found any food, unfortunately, but he had found this box to take a nap in. It was dry earlier.

"INTRUDER! INTRUDER!" Comes the voice, and the thumping of feet heading in his direction gets louder.

"GET OUT!" A giant dog skids to a stop before him, snarling viciously. Shizuo stiffens, ears going back and body stiffening in alarm. This dog is huge, twice as big as Shizuo and with sleek black and white fur.

"Leave!" She snaps, and Shizuo finds himself snarling back.

"What makes it your box?" He growls back, angrily. The other dog's hackles rise, her growls growing louder.

"Can't you smell us?! Get out, you're covering it up!"

"Covering what up?" He asks, much to the others apparent displeasure.

"His scent!" She snaps, lurching forward to snap it him. Shizuo jumps, moving out of the box to avoid her big jaws.

"Whose scent?" He asks, testing the air himself. He can only smell her and the city, no other dog nearby. She doesn't answer him, pressing her nose to a corner of the soggy box and inhaling deeply. She seems to visibly relax at whomever she manages to smell, and settles down in her box.

"His." She answers quietly, after a moment.

"Who is he?"

"The skinny human. He's not here anymore, just the smell." She says, ears down and body lax. Shizuo pauses a moment to wonder how they're communicating, when it dawns on him that he's only opened his mouth to growl once. He freezes in alarm, the other dog lifting her head to observe his new behavior.

"What's wrong with you?" She asks, and he realizes she's not opened her snout either. But he can see the question in her eyes and in her body language,and though his human brain doesn't understand what it means, apparently the new canine side of him does.

 _It's translating for me,_ he realizes. He shakes his head, amazed and confused with this new information.

"Where did he go?" He asks, and she looks at him sadly.

"He died. Some other humans took the body away." She says quietly, pressing her nose back to the box. She closes her eyes, lying there silently. Shizuo feels a pang in his chest, and finds himself dipping his head in sympathy.

"I'm sorry." He offers, and she looks back to him.

"Why were you lying here?" She asks, and he sighs.

"I needed to rest."

"Don't you have a place to do that already?"

"Well, yes, but I can't go there right now."

"Why?" She inquires, curiously. She lifts her head to better acknowledge him, giving him a better look at her floppy ears and big brown eyes.

"I'm looking for someone." He answers, with a pause "Although I might have lost the scent."

"If it's a human, don't bother. I know a cat, Sunny, who was abandoned by his human. He's been searching for a very long time, and it's pointless." She says, matter of factly.

"Well, technically I'm looking for a cat. Have you seen him?"

"Have I seen a cat? Yeah, tons! They don't like me very much, though."

"He's, uh, black. Small. Red eyes." He says, and she makes a motion that would equate to a human shrug.

"Nope, haven't seen that. But red eyes on a cat? Sounds weird." She huffs, properly curling up in her wet box. The rain is heavier now, and he can smell the both of them more than he'd like. He'd always thought wet dog smell was a myth, but then again he avoided dogs. He was always afraid he'd hurt them.

"Well, he's more like a flea than a cat." He laughs, over the pang in his chest. Shizuo misses Izaya, truthfully. His sort of boyfriend is missing, all because he wasn't smart enough to stop Shinra or fast enough to catch Celty. And if he's hurt or dead he will never forgive Celty. As is, he refuses to forgive Shinra at this point.

 _But I'll find him,_ he assures himself. _If I have to search all of Tokyo, I'll find him._

 **As much as I love Izaya, I can't deny that I am a dog person. I don't hate cats at all, however, and I happen to own four. Two are outside cats (They adopted us and I can't bring them inside XD) and better at fending for themselves (plus I've experienced others before them) so I have a decent ability to understand cats. That, plus a little research and imagination, is what's helping me write Izaya in a cats body.**

 **Now, the cat featured in this chapter was batting at Izaya's face harshly but without using his claws. I understand this might come across as silly, and looks silly, but they really do this to warn each other off. Now it is a little more plausible that he would have outright attacked Izaya first rather than just warning him, but this character is going to be a bit kinder than you'd think.**

 **As for personality with any other felines...I'm torn. You'd think you'd write a house cat as haughty and above everything else, but my inside cats are not like that at all. Sheba, my eldest inside cat, is a love machine. She always has to be on my lap or near me and can't stand it if I leave her alone too long. She's incredibly sweet and has NEVER attacked me even if she has been upset (which is rare) and she's even careful with her claws when kneading me or holding my face (She likes to place her paws around my head when I hold her)**

 **Daphne, my youngest cat (inside and out, she's only around 7 or 8 months old) is an antisocial dirt bag. She is not, by any means, a mean spirited cat she just...dislikes us. Well, that's not true. She can be very sweet if she wants but her wanting this is rare. If you try to pet her, she will run. If you approach her, she will run. If you look at her too with any hint of intention to do anything at all, she will run.**

 **She's an antisocial hoe and I love her. Sometimes she's come, purring louder than any cat I've met before, and after tearing into my thighs for 10 minutes, curl up and sleep. As long as I make no movements, and no one else in the room does anything either, she'll stay there purring and sleeping. Unfortunately she's a gorgeous little calico, and very very very petite with lovely white paws like mittens. In short, I just wanna squeeze her till she pops.**

 **Sheba is orange, pretty, and FAT. Good for cuddles.**

 **I might (probably will) tell you guys about my dogs next time. You know, the two people who read my notes anyway XD Much love. Originally this was going to be much shorter with just Izaya's side of this chapter but I decided it looked pathetic so I stayed up an extra two hours just to bring you guys Shizuo's side. Aren't you lucky? ;) I ACTUALLY CRIED WHEN I WROTE THE PART ABOUT THE DOGGIE WHO'S HUMAN DIED UGHHHH XD It was so brief but I'm tired and really sensitive about doggies being alone :(**

 **Sorry for my rambling. I'm fat off turkey and in a good mood. With how much fun I'm having writing this, I doubt another chapter is far off. 3 If you have any questions feel free to ask in the comments!**


	4. 18 Claws and You Still Can't Get A Grip

Chapter Text

"What do you think of humans?" Izaya inquires quietly, padding alongside the cat he's just met this afternoon.

"I cannot form an opinion on them." The cat replies, striding along with grace. Izaya eeps up fairly easily, and though his balance wavers from time to time, he finds his tail is a lot of help.

"May I ask why?" He asks, politely. They're walking along a sidewalk that thankfully isn't very populated,, though he keeps his voice down so no one notices that he's a talking cat.

"I'm not interested in judging a specie as a whole. I judge the individual, instead." He replies, glancing at Izaya with his large orange eyes. "What kind of Human were you?"

"Ahh, I like to think I'm more of a God, actually." He replies, flicking his tail haughtily. "And my life as one isn't over, yet. I fully intend to return to my original form."

"Hmm.. and what is your name?" The large tabby cat asks, curiously.

"Izaya Orihara." He purrs, quite literally. He's not used to the tiny vibrations coming from him still, but it's not unpleasant, at least. "And do you have a name?"

"Oni." He replies, and Izaya looks to him curiously.

"What did you do to deserve a name like that?"

"I could ask you the same thing."

"Ooh," Izaya coos. He can feel his tail flicking back and forth, and he can't decide if he's pleased or annoyed. "Touché."

He pauses when he notices his fur is starting to bristle, and there's a new scent in the air. His human brain tell him to stop, look around for the danger, but new feline instincts take over. His head lifts, taking in the new scent with twitching whiskers and a rather alert attitude.

Oni sniffs the air as, and heads around the corner to a small, secluded park. Izaya follows, head still high as they get closer and closer to the smell. His small body starts to tense, ears pricked when he hears a sound.

 _"SUNNY!"_ A large dog comes bounding into sight, black and white fur rustling with the wind and she practically knocks Oni over. He hardly reacts, just sighs deeply and almost fondly. Izaya backs away, fur standing on end and he fights not to run away. Dogs like to chase, after all.

"Hello, Darling." He speaks, and if he had eyebrows Izaya is sure they'd be sky high.

"You're...in a relationship with this beast?" He hisses, and both of them turn to look at him. Oni with a look that says he thinks Izaya is stupid, and the dog with blank curiosity. Izaya wonders if she can understand him.

"No, you idiot." Oni sighs, giving the dog a quick, reassuring nuzzle and purr. "Her name is Darling."

"Talks like a human," The dog mutters with a lowered head, more to herself than either of them. Oni's words come back to him, then, about cats being able to understand all species but not the other way around.

"She can't understand you." He states the obvious out loud, wondering if he could make a cat roll it's eyes.

"That's right." Oni nuzzles Darling again, but her eyes stay trained on him in an unnervingly alert way. "She can only understand other dogs, just as birds only understand other birds, and so on. That's why she calls me Sunny, since she doesn't know my real name."

"Red eyes…" The dog gasps, tearing herself away from Oni to approach Izaya. He scrambles back, fur puffing up and claws coming out.

"Then-then why hang around her?" The dog is huge compared to him, at least in this form, and everything in his is screaming at him to escape. He's never liked dogs, to say the very least, and being not even a foot tall doesn't help.

"I _know_ you!" She yells, lurching forward with excitement. A flash of teeth, accompanied by the feeling of his chest going icy cold with dread, and he's running. Out of the alleys, around people's startled feet, down the sidewalks he's bolting away from the fluffy menace. If the excited barking is anything to go by, she's following close behind.

He runs into a park, heart pounding and feline instincts getting tangled with up with his human ones. A tree, tall and mighty, catches his cats eye and he heads towards it without a second thought. Izaya sinks his claws into the bark, hauling himself up, up, up, high into the branches and away from the danger.

When he finally settles down on a thick branch, his breath is stolen from him when he looks around himself. The leaves around him practically glitter under the sun's gaze, bright green and gorgeous. The bark under his paws is warmed from the summer day, and it makes him feel pleasant all over. He lies down, the world fading away as calm and warmth sweeps over him.

He can't remember the last time he felt this relaxed. Or this warm, even. He can, however, remember the last time he felt this happy.

It was at Shizuo's dingy little apartment. They'd make chocolate chip cookies on a whim, Shizuo had a craving and Izaya wanted to annoy him by getting the measurements wrong on purpose. The cookies came out in form of tough, unsweet flat disks unsuitable for consumption.

Shizuo ate three just to make him smile.

Izaya lays his head down on the warm bark, suddenly missing his fake blond boyfriend. They hadn't been a thing for long, just the better part of two months, but Izaya all lingering hatred had been erased within two days and replaced with something much, much better. Izaya mentally looks at the part of himself that had been willing to kill Shizuo if he had the opportunity, and can't understand how he ever felt that way.

He falls asleep, eventually, basking in the warm afternoon sun with his problems literally unable to reach him. He thankfully doesn't dream much this time, at least of nothing upsetting, his feline thought process in control instead. There's nothing but grass and wind around him, the sounds of little creatures scurrying off in the distance, and the smell wildflowers around him.

"Izaya?" Fireflies start to glow as the sun sets, and they take flight.

"Hey, Izaya!" He chases on, but it's somehow faster and too elusive to catch. He tries anyway, suddenly desperate to catch it.

"IZAYA!" Izaya startles awake, forgetting where he is in his moment of panic. It's too late before he thinks to hang onto the branch, and he's falling from the tree, mouth open on a silent scream.

 **IMPORTANT: I want to get everyone's opinion, if I can. I currently have 3 Shizaya stories in progress (12 days of python is on hold until around Christmas of 2018 and The Bachelor is probably over, on hiatus at least) so...which of those three stories do you guys like and want updated the most?**

 **The three are: this story, For Pities Sake**

 **Nooses Around Necks-After several murders pop up in Ikebukuro and all around Tokyo, the rise of a new gang brings trouble for everyone. Find out what happens when Izaya and Shizuo, both struggling with inner demons, get pulled into the mess! Part 3 of Caught In The middle series**

 **and Our Afterlife Together- "Welcome to our afterlife, Shizu-chan."Which one are you guys most invested in? I DO have one in the works, a genderbent mystery, but I'll probably wait a bit on that before posting. Anyway, let me know! It would be a big help to know what needs attention most :) Thanks! Hoping you liked this shitty chapter XD**


	5. Four Of A Kind

A yowl of fright tore from Izaya's throat as plummeted towards the ground, body jerking and twisting in midair so his feet are towards the ground. Still, this isn't much help given the height, and if it weren't for the furry creature he lands on, he might have been paralyzed. They gasp beneath him, from the force or pain, Izaya can't tell. But he can smell the creature, his heightened feline senses telling him it's a dog and his human brain responding to that by telling him he's in danger.

Blindly he attacks, panic urging him to lash out with his claws again and again. He can't see, reacting blindly on terror new instinct he has no control over. The dog yelps, twice at least, but only moves in closer. After a few seconds of his own frantic hissing, adrenaline, and blood gathering in his claws, he picks up another scent that makes him pause. Faint bleach, smoke, and spilled milkshake, much stronger than it usually is… when he's in bed with Shizuo.

"...Shizuo?" He finally looks up from where he's been backed up against the very tree he's just fallen from. It is indeed Shizuo, although in dog form, standing before him with his ears back and jagged, bloody scratches all along his muzzle. He thinks he spots a even few along the sides of his furry face, too.

"Are you okay?" Shizuo carefully leans forward, slowly, to sniff at a frozen Izaya. "I'm sorry, I didn' mean to scare you," he mumbles remorsefully.

He says nothing, struck powerfully by his own actions. Oh, sure, he's hurt Shizuo before, but that was...well, that was _before._ Before they'd started dating, slashing the blond with knives and cutting words and cruel pranks. But that was the past. The day they'd huddled together in a secluded spot, hiding from the rain with shared grins and too much sexual tension, he hadn't hurt Shizuo since.

Intentionally or unintentionally.

"Izaya?" He nudged again by Shizuo, who's still bleeding. It's like being shaken or a patted, a gesture of worried frustration. Izaya's cats ears, incredibly more powerful than his human ones, pick up on a low whine of frustration coming from deep within his blondish companion.

"Izaya, c'mon, are you _okay?"_ Shizuo persists. Finally, he nods, though the movement is awkward since, in this body, his neck is shorter and not as flexible, to say the least. At least, not in the same way.

"What are you doing here?" He manages to get out, and wants to scratch himself for those words as soon as he's said them.

"And here I thought you'd be happy," Shizuo teases,relieved to hear him speak. "That dog over there, Darling, she knew the cat you were with and led me here." He leans forward, closer to Izaya, drinking in his presence. "I missed you. I'm glad you're okay."

"I...Yes, well, I'm relieved as well." I missed you too...

"Well," Oni speaks up, stepping forward gracefully. Darling trotted nervously beside him, alert and nervous. "This is a nice reunion, and I'm happy for the both of you, but we should leave soon. Immediately, if we can."

"Sunny," the dog whines, nudging the small cat a bit. "The catchers are coming, we have to go!" He purrs at her comfortingly, though it doesn't do much good, and her tense frame puts them all on edge.

"Catchers? Like, dog catchers?" Shizuo asks, sulking a bit closer to Izaya as well, responding to a threat unconsciously.

"No. They're a group of teens that hang around the park. They like to abduct strays, especially cats." Oni's fur bristles just slightly, tail twitching and low, and Izaya thinks it to be the equivalent of someone shaking their head in disgust. "You never see them again."

"Go away!" Darling suddenly barks, growling, and they turn to see some boys, late teens, approaching them.

"What's this?" The first one drawls, eyeing them with cruel eyes. "Two dogs and cats, getting along? This is like Noah's ark!"

"We should fix that," Another one laughs, hand shooting out to grab Oni. Darling intervenes, biting him hard before he can even touch the cat. Unfortunately, he had some thick black material wrapped around his hand, cushioning the force of her powerful jaws.

The disturbed kid grabs her by the scruff of her neck, keeping his legs and face away as she releases his protected hand to snap at more vulnerable places. Oni tries to attack, and winds up getting a heavy boot stomped onto his back, keeping him pinned to the ground.

"Here, kitty kitty," one of them coos, bringing out what looks like a heavy metal net and stepping towards them."Come let me pet you." Shizuo snarls, fur standing on end, forgetting who he is with his new instincts.

"Oh, I wouldn't do that if I were you," Izaya warns them, watching in amusement as they all freeze in horror. "These are my precious friends, after all."

"Fuckin'…am I high right now?" Asks a particularly ugly frat boy.

"Trippin balls, gotta be tripping right now." The one holding Darling lossens his grip in shock, and she gets her teeth deep in the leg f the one pinning Oni. He lifts his foot with a pained howl, darting away as soon as she lets go to take cover behind his buddies, while she hovers over the stunned cat protectively.

"I assure you, this isn't the work of drugs." He straightens his spine, catching Shizuo's irritated huff. "Tell 'em, Shizu-chan." He nudges the dog, amazed at how little Shizuo scares him compared to every other dog in the world. Well, the big ones, at least. Even though the little yappers tended to be the most aggressive...

"Are you insane?" Shizuo glares at him, a surprisingly human gesture where Izaya expected an animalistic one. "I mean really, are you, Izaya? 'Cause I think you must be."

"Ooh, you're no fun," he pouts. Izata steps forward, gaining the teens attention, wishing he had the facial muscles to smirk properly.

"Those strays are fuckin' talkin' man…"

"Listen up!" He snaps, letting his voice turn powerful and commanding. Both Shizuo and Darling's ears perk up, at attention with the tone instinctively. "As you young men can see, we're not ordinary animals. Why, we're not really even animals at all," he purrs, putting his affinity for theatrics to good use.

Izaya lifts his head, showing off his red eyes while he knows their focus is solely on him. One boys actually shrieks, backing up with a cry of "demon!"

"I've been watching you, watching you down below," He gestures to the ground, chuckling. "And you've been very, very bad. I think you need to be punished…"

"No! Please, please, oh god, don't, Satan, please-" the ugly one begs, falling to his knees and clasping his hands together. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'll be good, I swear I will-"

"Man up! It's a trick, stupid, it's gotta be." The supposed leader saunters forward, pulling a knife from his oversized hoodie and heading straight for Izaya. "Let's see if we can't make this kitty stop purring…"

Before he can get too close, however, Shizuo is launching himself forward, headbutting the kid with powerful force. He goes flying across the park, smacking into a lone bench and rolling off it onto the ground. He lies there, limp but breathing, unfortunately, and the remaining boys go completely silent, terrified.

"Anyone else wanna fuckin try that?" Shizuo growls, and they all shake their heads furiously. Darling whines a little, and Izaya can see her nuding Oni away from Shizuo as best she can. He's relieved, actually. Being that close to her was unnerving. He shakes away his fear as best he can and focuses on the teens instead.  
"Are there animals in that van?" A few nod, and one boy is wringing his hands nervously, looking back and forth between Izaya and Shizuo. "Well, release them!" He snaps, laughing when they scramble to do as they're told. Izaya shrinks back a little as four dogs and at least 10 cats are released from tiny cages, barking and meowing, seizing their freedom and running away as fast as they can. Most of them look injured, limping away as fast as possible, and it angers him a little, but Izaya puts this out of his mind.

"Now, you're going to take us to a specific address, and after that you must promise to never, ever, touch another animal again. Got it? Oooorrrr," He pauses, letting them hold their breath a little. He's always been sadistic.

 _"_ _Or_ I'll let the hellhound drag you down to fire and brimstone, where you'll never see the sky again." They nod, two of the boys rushing over to grab their fallen leader, opening the doors and dumping him inside ungracefully. They then hold the doors open for them. He hops inside, and Shizuo follows, less than pleased if his grump expression is anything to go by.

He gives them Shinra's address, and dips his head respectfully to Oni and Darling, watching them quietly as the boys close the doors and drive off.

* * *

"We're-we're here," informs one of the pubescent sociopaths,his voice shaking almost as bad as his hands. Why he was the one driving, Izaya couldn't tell you. The doors are opened for them, the teenagers watching with scared eyes as he calmly stretches in the most common feline way, arching his back with his arms stretched before him and tail curling.

"Remember to keep your promise," Izaya says, hopping onto the sidewalk, glancing back at them with a dramatic little flick of his tail. "I'll be watching," he adds, as menacingly as he can. Shizuo jumps out as well, growling instinctively when one of the boys flinches.

The van takes off before the doors are even fully closed, screeching away loudly and hurting Izaya's new sensitive ears. By the way Shizuo cowers, slightly, this hurts him too.

"That was really stupid. What if they tried something, huh?"

"Nonsense," he purrs. They pad along the pavement together, light and graceful. "You were there. Plus no one would fight a demon _and_ a hellhound, right?"

"And if they figured out you were bluffing," Shizuo growls. "What then? And stop saying that, I don't like you callin' me a hellhound."

"Not even in bed?" He blinks innocently at Shizuo, laughing a little when he sees his tail twitch, just a bit. "Heh, you still could have taken them, a true hellhound or not." It's even funnier when his tail wags harder at Izaya's compliment.

"Yeah, figures _I'd_ have to fight them. You're a real pussy."

"..." Izaya stops dead, staring at Shizuo as the dog fights not to laugh. "Did you… did you just…?"

Footsteps become apparent, then, both their ears pricking up as man comes into view. His eyes zero in on Izaya, and he frowns as if he's smelled something bad. Izaya tries to look innocent, curling his tail to indicate he's friendly, though unknown to him it comes off more coy than cute.

"...hmm. You remind me of someone. Someone I don't like very much," The stranger mumbles, rubbing at his nose a little. As he does, Izaya notices that his rings are bloodied on one hand, the other balled into a fist at his sides. He's close enough for Izaya to catch the smell of rubbing alcohol, hand sanitizer, and a cologne all too familiar to Izaya.

 _'_ _Shinra,'_ he realizes, eyeing the blood on the mans rings, He bristles, suddenly furious, and the man takes a few steps back, muttering something about wild strays. He walks off, saying something else that Izaya could have easily picked up on, if he bothered paying attention. But he's worried, the implications of the blood rolling around his brain.. Izaya rushes the rest of the way to Shinra's apartment, Shizuo following, to his front door. He starts scratching at it frantically, hoping to catch his friends attention, despite still being sore with the man.

"Izaya, calm down!" He ignores Shizuo, scratching harder and wrecking the paint on the door. He hears someone inside, shuffling footsteps, and backs up as the door opens to reveal Shinra. He's holding a wet cloth to his newly acquired split lip, but looks otherwise unharmed.

"What…? Oh, Izaya? Shizuo?!" Shinra exclaims, dropping the cloth to snatch Izaya up and yanks Shizuo inside quickly. He slams the door shut, locking it and rushing to pull the curtains closed as well.

"You shouldn't be here!" He snaps. "Ooh, this is bad, this is bad." His white doctors coat looks ruffled, and the apartment around them is a mess, like he'd been robbed though nothing seems to be missing.

"You have some major shit to fix," Shizuo growls, baring his teeth. "Change us BOTH the fuck ack. Now!"

"Did he see you?" Shinra demands, whirling around to look him and ignoring his canine friends anger.

"Does it matter?" Izaya gets out, a little started by his paranoid behaviour. Shinra looks a mess, eyes dark and nothing of his usual smile to be seen.

"Izaya, did he _see_ you?" Shinra stresses, crouching down to their level. At Izaya's current size he looks huge, threatening.

"...Izaya?" Shinra reaches out to brush his fingers against the top of Izaya's head, like he doesn't believe he's there. It's gentle, nice, but Izaya's not forgotten Shinra's abuse of him before, the neglect, uncaring way he looked over his leg, and the hauntingly cruel dream. His ears fall flat, tail down, signaling with just his body that's he uncomfortable, as if someone with no animal experience would understand. Finally Shizuo steps between them stiffly pushing Shinra's hand away with his body.

"Yes," Izaya finds he can answer, thanks to Shizuo. "He saw me… why does it matter?"

"Because-...because he's out to kill you, okay?"

 **Sorry this took so long! I've been having trouble posting on here. Anyway, comments fuel me 3**


	6. Dozens and Dozens

"Calm down," Izaya hisses, backing away from the doctor. "In case you haven't noticed, I'm a cat right now."

"It doesn't matter," Shinra groans. "You _have_ to stay hidden."

Izaya sits down carefully, his tail sweeping around him to rest itself lightly over his paws. "Shinra, calm down. No one is going to go after me in this form. Well," He amends, eyeing Shizuo beside him as the dogs fur bristles slightly. "No one except abusive teenagers, that is."

"What? Teenagers?"

"Yeah, some stupid teenagers came after us," Shizuo growls. "Stupid animal abusing fucks." As Izaya glances over at Shizuo, he finds he has the strangest urge to groom the dog, looking at that. ruffled and dirty fur. How unsightly.

"Don't worry, we scared the shit out of them," He purrs, chest puffing up proudly. "They won't be bothering us again."

"Oh, Izaya," Shinra moans, slumping down to bury his face in his hands. "Please, please tell me you didn't talk?"

"I did."

"Great, that's just… great." Shinra looks at him, and he's shocked to find anger shining in that gaze. Shinra glances somewhere behind Izaya, but Izaya is too surprised to follow his gaze.

"Why does it matter?" His tail is flicking about, ears lowered slightly. Something's off, he should look behind him, but he just can't. He feel paralyzed.

"You… are such a pain sometimes," Shinra sighs as he sits up.

"What are you even-" He cuts himself with a startled yelp when Shinra suddenly grabs him by the scruff of the neck and hauls him into the air. He twists around as much as he's able in the open air, expecting to see Shizuo attacking, but he's shocked to find the dog passed out on the floor.

Celty is crouched near his mutt, needle in hand and helmet facing his direction. Izaya struggles wildly to get free, but he's held tight. Shinra's grip on his neck is painful, his skin stretching uncomfortably with the way it's forced to support all his weight.

"You've been a bad kitty," Shinra says mockingly, carrying him through the apartment and away from his secret lover. "You need to be put away for a bit."

He's thrown in a little cage beside Shinra's bed, just big enough for himself and nothing else. The cage smells like metal and confinement in the most humiliating way. He goes to work the lock as soon as he gets his bearings, but Shinra snaps a padlock on the door and cage bars before he can.

Shinra smiles at him from his crouched position lording over the cage. He struggles to calm his hammering heart and stop the wild gasps of panic choking him. This is cruel. This is beyond cruel- he's a human! He's practically a God, and they're putting him in a cage!?

"You know, Orihara-kun…" He tilts his head, looking Izaya over without a trace of sympathy in his gaze. "I don't know what you did to convince Shizuo that you weren't the scummiest person alive, but Celty and I don't appreciate it."

He swears his heart skips a beat as he stares up at his friend through the cage bars. "That's not," He tries to laugh , but it sticks in his throat like he's swallowed tar. "Shizu-chan isn't being manipulated."

That smile doesn't fade in the slightest. "You make it really hard to want to help you, Orihara-kun." Shinra stands up with a shake of his head, as if Izaya's a child claiming to have not touched the cake when frosting is all over his face. That's disappointment in his gaze, clear as day.

Shinra sighs and pulls a needle from his pocket, the same kind Celty had. He presses himself against the back of the little cage as hard as he can, but he hasno where to go, and the needle sinks past his fur and into his skin without his consent. A cloth is thrown over the cage, obscuring his view of the outside world as he's lifted up and taken somewhere new.

"Did you even ask him," he yells, a manic laugh bubbling strangely in his throat. "Did you ever even ask Shizu-chan?" His head spins as he slumps against the bars, ears drooping and eyelids heavy.

"Just ask him," he mumbles, as he hears the front door open and footsteps against pavement. "Just ask…"

* * *

He wakes up in a slightly bigger cage to a chorus od jarring barks and wailing mewls. He's alone in his prison cell, but across from him he see's dozens of similar cages lining the walls. He can hear and smell various animals on either side of him- even below and above, and realizes just where he is.

"A pound?" He gasps, mouth curling into a cheap imitation of a grin. He thinks being able to properly smile is the thing he misses most about being human. "He took me to a pound?"

"Aww, sugar." He looks up to see another cat in one of the cages opposite to him. "Did your owner drop you off?"

"They're all evil," snaps a little Chihuahua in the cage beside her. "Humans are evil! Evil, evil, ev-I hate them all!"

"They're not all bad," the cat attempts to soothe him with a gentle purr. "I told you, my girl would have kept me if she'd had a choice-"

"Humans always have choices," the little dog yaps back, fire in his eyes. "They have all the choices- they even have _our_ choices! They choose for us and yours chose to send you here!"

"She didn't want to," the cat sniffs. She turns around to curl up with her back to them, ears low and defeated. The door opens, then, and a dog trots in with their head held high.

"Listen up, newbies!" A pitbull speaks up from near the floor. Several animals, supposedly just arrived today as Izaya has, perk up to listen to the authoritative voice of the pit bull covered in scars. She's the only one not in a cage, pacing across the floor with clipped ears perked high and eyes serious. There's a collar around her neck, tags swinging with every step.

"You have two choices," she says, with the kind of tone you'd expect from a soldier. "You can be playful and cute and pray to God someone gets you before your two weeks are up. That's 14 days, and I give this speech 2 times a day. Once you've heard it 28 times, you're done."

"D-done?" A kitten speaks up, fluffy, orange, and terrified. The pitbull's eyes soften, but she doesn't acknowledge it.

"Should you choose you don't want another chance, you can lay in the back of your cage and ignore the visitors. You might still be selected, but bad behaviour can take care of that. And in two weeks- that's 14 days, 28 speeches- a human will come collect you and send you on your way to…" she glances at the kitten. "To a new home in the sky."

"They feed you once a day, and give you water twice a day. For the felines, your litter boxes are scooped once at the end of the day. For the big dogs, there's a little door connecting you to a yard do your business there. For you small dogs, you have what humans call a doggy pad, which is basically a floor diaper. And, like the cats, it will be changed at the end of the day. " As the Pitbull says this, the door swings open to reveal a human. He whistles at the Pitbull, and she trots out of the room quietly, ignoring the barks and meows of questions from the animals around her.

"A pound," Izaya mumbles again to himself, head swimming. A glance behind him reveals an empty food bowl, a full water bowl, and a litterbox. How humiliating. He's thirsty and hungry, he finds, having not eaten much of anything in two days, and he'd only stopped for water twice while with Oni.

"Heh… hahaha." Several animals, including the sad cat and the angry Chihuahua, lift their heads as he starts to laugh. _"Hahaha!_ A pound! I'm in a pound!"

"Oh boy," the Chihuahua mutters. "We got a crazy one." Izaya remembers, vaguely, about Oni telling him only cats could understand other animals, and wonders how all these animals seem to understand each other perfectly.

Izaya just keeps laughing, his voice cresting louder and louder until it drowns out all the other animals. He doesn't know if he sounds like a human laughing, or if he sounds like a yowling cat. He doesn't care, doesn't care how he sound anyway. His claws are scraping the cheap metal floor of his tiny little prison, and he swears he hears Shinra laughing along with him in his head. The walls close in around him, suffocating him with the weight of his horrifying new predicament.

"You can't put a God in a cage!" He bites out through manic peels of choked laughter. "You can't-You can't do this to me!"

He catches the eyes of the sad cat, and he stops laughing like he's been struck. Swimming in her gaze are memories of love and trust, shattered by a human who'd abandoned her.

"I'm not like you," he says. "I wasn't… I wasn't abandoned! I'm a human! _I'm human!_ He wouldn't possible leave me here to die," he insists. He hears the other animals around him, annoyed and sympathetic alike.

"Shut up, crazy feline!"

"You think you're better than us?! Pipe down you batshit cat!"

"Poor thing. Poor, poor little thing..."

"I'm a God," he hisses, and it comes out more like a sob. "I'm not like you!" He turns away from everyone else, curling up at the farthest corner of his prison. His fur is bristled uncomfortably, but he bites down hard on his urge to smooth it down. He is not an animal.

And he hasn't been abandoned.

 **Aah guys I am so sorry it's been so long! I was honestly SO stuck on this chapter I didn't know what to do with myself. I finally figured it out tho so... finally! I'll try to start updating this one more but I've been weirdly busy and all my creativity has been leaning towards drawing lately so. Sorry XD**


	7. 3 of a Kind

**AUUUGHHH I have been SO busy! I love it. I finished my second commission yesterday and I'm really very proud! SO MUCH ART! I've hardly had any time to write between drawing, running around, and everything else, hahaha.**

 **There's also that I'm still struggling with this story a bit. I have a direcion for it now (yay me!) but I'm still working out the kinks and stuff. Blah. Next update really needs to be Nooses around necks but.. mm, I'm worried about that story too. I mean I know what I wanna do with it but, I don't think anyone really liked their sappy kiss in the last chapter ;w; I knew it was grossly fluffy and probably OOC, but it's what my fingers (heart) wrote (wanted) so... oh well. I should wrap it up soon, it's just...**

 **I don't know. I always take my art and my stories in a certain direction hoping for certain results. I think of those glorious fics, with the slow burn and the action- the really good, memorable ones, and I think my stories will turn out like that. I picture these great, action packed, bite your nails, amazing sort of stories...**

 **And mine just don't turn out that way.**

 **I go between telling myself that I'm just unique, that what comes from me is different and inspiring in it's own, great way! And then, other times, I tell myself it's because I am unable to reach those heights and will never be good enough to make anything memorable.**

 **The truth of it is simply that I am young, not as experienced as some, and that I'll always take my work my own way. With time and with practice will come the experience I want and by then I'll have my own style that may or may not inspire others.**

 **Right now I'm at a place where I both want to say "Look how far I've come!" and "Don't look this way, I'm not ready yet."**

 **I guess... I feel like a cake.**

 **I have the ingredients and the passion, with just a pinch of natural talent (and fought for experience) and it's all been mixed up and dumped in a pan, and right now I'm baking. I'm not ready to come out, yet, but I will be one day. One day I'll be able to properly decorate myself- to make something of myself in this world and to have people want to "eat me" if that makes sense.**

 **But right now I just need to keep baking.**

 **(God I really can beat a metaphor to death)**

The first thing Shizuo does when he's back in his human body is beat the shit out of Shinra.

He doesn't know what happened, but Izaya is gone, and Shinra looks pleased in a way that makes his blood boil.

"Where is he?" He hauls the doctor up by the front of his coat. Shinra splutters weakly, squinting at him. He'd been kind enough to remove his glasses before he started punching.

"Y-you don't have to worry," Shinra laughs, blood spraying from his mouth where he has several broken teeth. Ugh, disgusting.

"I asked you a question."

"He's poisoned you." Shinra shakes his head at him, sympathetic and infuriating. "You know how he is, Heiwajima-sa-"

"Why the fuck have you been so hostile towards him lately?" He frowns. "And why has Celty been goin' along with it?"

"Haha! Wouldn't it be the other way around, though?" Shinra offers happily, and Shizuo blinks in surprise.

"What… she's mad at Izaya? What did the flea do?"

"What do you think?" Shinra gestures at him weakly, smiling. "Somehow he's blackmailing you into a-" he brings his fingers up to make quotation marks in the air as he speaks "-relationship. And my darling doesn't like that."

Oh, shit. Of course. He'll have to have a chat with her about that later. For now… "What about turnin' us into animals then?"

"That was my idea!" Yeah, of course it was.

"Tell me why."

"Aha, well…" He grins, bright and bloody. "I can't spoil all the surprise-Ah, don't hit me again! Okay okay." Shinra huffs at him, reaching for his glasses as Shizuo releases him to sit back and listen.

"You see… Orihara-san is in danger." He spreads his arms and grins, like this is some big reveal.

Shizuo blinks at his sort-of-not friend, nonplussed. "He's in trouble twice a day. How's this different?"

"You didn't let me finish." The doctor is attempting to clean his newly retrieved glasses on his coat, but all he's doing is smearing blood around the lenses. "This threat isn't targeting Izaya, exactly." He laughs. "Really, Shizuo-kun, why would I care if someone was trying to kill him? Everyone wants to kill him. Hahaha!"

He grumbles, but can't deny the mans words. He kinds of wants to kill Izaya still, and they're dating now, for fucks sake.

"Okay… so? Who's bein' targeted then?" He scowls. "Is it me? Dammit, I have told him that it is not fuckin' romantic to set gangs on me…"

"...How long have you been dating?" Shinra gives him an awkward look. "Cause he's been setting gangs on you-"

"Two months."

"...-Since High school."

"..."

"..."

"Anyway!" Shinra stands up, glasses finally clear enough to be useful, and starts padding towards the kitchen. "Want some coffee? Or, ah, milk?"

"Hey, don't change the subject!" He storms after him angrily. "...but some milk would be nice. Thank you."

"Sure." Shinra gets it, sighing as he does. "The one in danger is… well. This is gonna sound corny, but… it's the world."

"...This isn't a fuckin marvel movie." He takes the offered cup, sipping his milk with a scowl.

"Okay so maybe not the world," Shinra laughs, "But, well, Ikebukuro is, at least."

"So you won't tell me where he is?"

"No." Shinra lifts his head in a cheerful smile, the light catching his glasses and making them glow in an ominous way. "This is, after all, for the good of everyone."

Shit…

* * *

Izaya is awakened by someone tapping at the bars of his prison. Slowly he lifts his head, turning it far enough from where he'd had it pressed against his side to greet his visitor. There's a little girl, barely tall enough to see into his cage, peering at him and tapping against the bars expectantly.

"Oh… my, look at those eyes," a woman gasps, presumably her mother. "How unique. Is he a special breed?"

"No."

"Oh… is something wrong with him, then?" She looks to the prison guard- the shelter employee- with worry, but he just shrugs.

"Here, kitty kitty…" The little girl makes kissy noises at him, poking her fingers through the bars. He's insanely tempted to lash out, to sink his claws into the chubby flesh of her outstretched fingers, but resists. They'll label him unadoptable if he acts too hostile, and that means shinra won't be able to come get him out of here.

Because obviously the doctor is coming back. Or Celty, he might send her instead. Or even Shizuo. Bottom line, he just needs to play nice enough to be considered but not so much to be actually adopted.

"Kiiitttyyyy," the girls whines, "don't you wanna be my friend?"

No.

He gives her a small little mewl before lying back down, back to them, ignoring their continued conversation. The mom thinks he's sick, now.

Eventually they move away, and he secretly hopes they move onto the kitten. However, they leave empty handed not long after, and the shelter is quiet.

"Psst!"

Ugh.

"Ppsssstttt!"

Izaya ignores that, hoping it isn't for him.

"Hey! Crazy cat! Hey!"

Fuck.

"What," he hisses. He stands up, stretching his body out and feeling satisfied when his back pops nicely. He strides to the front of the cage, eyeing the feisty little Chihuahua.

"What was that, bro!?"

He glares. "To what are you referring?"

"Yo, that girl was your ticket outta here!" He glares back with beady little eyes. "What's your deal?"

"Tch. I don't need her, I have people coming for me."

"Oh honey," speaks up the gentle cat from before. She seems happier today, purring in a gentle hum and looking to him with very kind eyes. "You don't need to pretend. We're all in the same boat, after all. Maybe next time you should be friendlier; I'm sure you'll find someone very loving."

"No," he shakes his head with a chuckle. Why was he arguing? An animal wouldn't understand. "Thank you, miss, but I'm quite sure of my rescue. I know he's coming for me."

Her ears fall, and she looks a bit regretful even as she asks, "...he?"

"A doctor by the name of Kishitani." He sits gingerly, sweeping his tail to rest over his front paw nicely. "He's a terrible excuse for a friend, but he won't leave me here. His monster girlfriend wouldn't allow it." He laughs. "They're just trying to punish me."

"For what, scratching up the curtains?" The Chihuahua snickers.

"Well," Izaya grins at them the way a human would, and can tell it unsettles them. "I'll be here for a few days, at least. Perhaps we should get acquainted! I'm Orihara Izaya, info broker of Shinjuku. Pleasure to meet you."

"Reginald," the Chihuahua says, sniffing in his direction.

"My, what an interesting name." He grins, cruel. "Who gave it to you?"

Predictably, the little dog bristles. "No one! I gave it to myself, so shut up!"

"Right," Izaya laughs sarcastically. "How? Where would you, a tiny little dog, hear a name like that in Japan? Moreover, even if you did hear it from someone, how would you have known it was a name?" He cackles over the resulting snarl of fury.

"Shut up, shut up you shitty feline!"

"Now now," the kind cat tries to soothe them. She shakes herself a little, like she's trying to shake herself into a good mood once more. "I'm Cherry. It's a pleasure to meet you, Izaya." He blinks, a little surprised.

"Oho...Who said you could use my first name?" It's meant to be mocking, threatening and playful at the same time, but she just blinks oddly at him.

"What?" Cherry looks-and sounds-genuinely confused.

Hmm. He supposes it would make sense that animals wouldn't have the same polite little rules as humans. Speaking of little rules…

"A wise cat once told me only cats could understand other creatures. And even then, they could only understand but not communicate. But Reginald over there seems able to understand and communicate with all of us with ease, and vise versa." He tilts his head at the little dog, eyes sly.

"Why is that, _Reginald?"_ He mocks.

"None of your damn business," he spits, staring Izaya down. Tch, little mutt.

"Well-" Cherry flicks her tail to catch his attention, "-I grew up with dogs, and I've always been able to speak with them. Maybe it's the same for him? You're a rarity, though…

"Pardon?"

"You keep..switching." Her face scrunches, confused. "One minute you're talking like a cat, then the next like a human. Honestly it's getting confusing…"

...what?

"No… I've been speaking japanese this whole time. Not _meowing,_ " he chuckles, but her solem eyes say otherwise.

"It's true," Reginald says. "I have to piece what you're saying together from the cat words."

"Liar," he hisses, in what sounds like perfect Japanese to him.

"Am not," the dog growls, and Izaya feels alarm shoot up his spine. That was Japanese-human! He shouldn't be able to understand him!

Fear snakes its way up his spine, chilling him to his core.

Was he losing the ability to speak Japanese? If so...what was next?

 **I'm worried about my Sheba. She's my cat, the friendly one.**

 **She's been sneezing all day and I don't know why? Little shit, actually I was getting my lunch earlier and I had set my glass on the table while I got my food. Well, I heard her sneezing and what d I find? Her, standing on the table, staring at me while she sneezes repeatedly right into my glass.**

 **Maybe it's a cry for attention? XD Haha! As if. That cat gets way more attention than she needs. All she ever wants to do is be my lap. She'll shove my laptop aside for cuddles, cry at my door, stand on my head (just her front paws) and put her paws on my face and I hold her. I love her so much.**

 **I also love my other cat, Daphne, but she still doesn't want much to do with any of us. She's only sweet when she's horny (in heat)**

 **Well, that's all for now sweeties. Happy very late 4th of July to you! Comments fuel me 3**


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